The “core muscles” are a group of muscles that run the length of the trunk and torso to stabilize the spine, pelvis, and shoulder girdle. The muscles are found in the oblique and abdominal regions, lower back, and the gluteus muscle region. Together these muscles provide a solid foundation for supporting proper body alignment or posture, enable powerful movements of the extremities, help in the control of movements, the transfer of energy, the shift in body weight and the ability to move in any direction. Thus, the benefits of strengthening the core are important for full body training and improvement in body movement for developing both functional fitness essential to daily living and regular activities, as well as for developing high level athletic performance.
Strength, power, speed, quickness, agility, and coordination are critical for performance in almost all sports and activities, and all depend from the core muscles of the body. It is the core muscles of the body that connect all movements of the upper and lower body. Powerful and efficient movements of the extremities require a transfer of force through the body to achieve maximum acceleration of an appendage. This transfer of force is often a function of how well the upper and lower body are connected. By strengthening the core muscles, therefore, a solid unit is created that is capable of developing and transferring forces from the legs through the trunk to the arms. The sum of these integrated forces results in optimal acceleration. This is known as the kinetic-link or kinetic-chain principle. A few major sports in which this transfer of forces is particularly critical include baseball, golf, basketball, hockey, football, and tennis.
For these reasons, exercise and training for the whole body has focused on developing and maintaining strong core muscles. Such core strengthening exercises have been developed and are based on achieving recruitment and activation of core muscle function. Typically, such exercises are static and involve techniques that include perturbation training and neuromuscular facilitation to activate and integrate core muscle control, movement, and stability. For example, the use of resistance bands, medicine balls and balance boards have been used to target and isolate specific core muscle groups.
Exercise apparatus have also been described for targeting the core muscles. For example, United States Patent Publication No. 2013/0095987 describes an exercise apparatus that combines strength training and a core workout into one exercise module. The apparatus is described as containing a compressible member consisting of a durable exterior shell with an interior containing a liquid gel or gas. The volume and/or pressure inside the compressible member containing the liquid or gel may be changed to allow for varying levels of stability while performing exercises. When the apparatus is in use during exercise, or when the compressible member is worn by the exercising person, the compressible member causes physical instability during performance of a resistance-based exercise that requires the exercising person to use the core muscles to maintain balance and proper form. The apparatus, however, focuses on the muscles in the abdomen, back, and buttocks and does not stimulate rotational demand, thereby neglecting recruitment of the transversus abdominus and oblique muscles of the core. Accordingly, the apparatus does not offer multidirectional stimulation in particular in the rotational plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,833,140 describes a core resistance apparatus that comprises resistance cords that are secured to the user's wrists and thighs, for example, to provide a linear resistance force between two connections on the user. When the user moves or rotates, the movement generated by an extremity will produce an immediate force on the opposite extremity that increases recruitment and contraction of all the intrinsic core muscles, making the lower and upper extremities connected under resistance forces. Controlled resistance in stabilizing the movement from the opposite limb reinforces the muscle recruitment in the core muscles and also assists in maintaining a balance and a steady center of gravity. While the described resistance apparatus does offer stimulation of the rotational plane, the apparatus is cumbersome to use and cannot easily be adapted for use in dynamic functional movements or sport specific exercises.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.